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That story Barbara Slavin broke about retired Marine Gen. Tony Zinni being promised the next ambassadorship to Iraq only to have the offer abruptly rescinded? Foreign Policy‘s Laura Rozen got Zinni on the phone and he absolutely unloaded: President Obama spoke to Zinni personally; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had him to the State Dept. a week ago; and then he had to read in the Washington Post that Chris Hill was getting the job.
Is Zinni, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and South Asia, bitter? You tell me:
[National security adviser Jim] Jones asked him if he would like to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Zinni said. "I said, ‘You can stick that with whatever other offers," Zinni recalled, saying he had used more colorful language with Jones. Asked Jones’s response and if he was apologetic, Zinni said, "Jones was not too concerned. He laughed about it."
According to Rozen, Zinni and Jones, both Marine generals, have been friends for 30 years. Wow.
Crossposted to The Streak.
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Dick move, President Obama. Dick move.
Yeah, well, you can TALK to your friends. Sure.
But you start fucking your friends, you end up on the wrong side…
mikey
I read on some blog the definition of dickishness recently. This is dickish behavior by Obama and team, especially after the President had talked to him after the offer was made and accepted.
Obama doesn’t need any more former generals hating his ass.
I looked at the articles. Please quote for me the parts that talk about when the offer was actually made and accepted. Or did Zinni jump to conclusions about what his participation in the campaign merited as reward?
Be interesting to hear a conversation between Zinni and Howard Dean.
Well, look, it’s clear that they didn’t offer him a contract that he can wave in their faces, but Zinni, who’s been a player for a long time, is not dumb enough to have a temper tantrum in public for something that he can’t back up. If Hillary Clinton is having him to the State Department to talk next steps, this was progressing at a fairly rapid pace.